Dear Lifehacker, The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show just ended, and everyone's talking about…
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Ultra-thin laptops are great. They're light, super portable, and can handle almost any modern task you throw at them. They don't come with DVD drives inside, but the fact of the matter is that most of us rarely use disc drives these days, since online stores like iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix provide us with most of our media. That said, there are still a few situations in which they can come in handy—like when you're ripping one of your own CDs, or when you want to watch a movie on your laptop. Here are the best ways to do those things without an internal disc drive.

Step One: Buy an External DVD Drive—They're Cheap!

Okay, this may seem a little obvious, but the first thing you'll need is an external DVD drive. Even if you have a Mac, don't waste your money on Apple's $80 model—you can get one for as cheap as $30 or $40 on Amazon (I personally love this one from Amazon Basics). Just plug it into your USB drive, pop in whatever CD or DVD you need, and you're good to go. You can rip CDs to iTunes, play DVDs in your favorite DVD player, and even boot from the drive if you need to run Linux or reinstall Windows.

Step Two: Learn How to Rip DVDs to Your Computer

Everyone I know that's nervous about getting an ultrabook or MacBook Air is worried about one thing: watching movies while on-the-go, since no one wants to lug around an external drive with them. Luckily, you have a much better option: ripping those DVDs to your hard drive as movie files. It's very easy to do, and when you're done, you'll be able to watch your movies on a plane, in a coffee shop, or wherever you go. Not only will you be able to buy that ultra-thin laptop (which is easier to travel with), but watching a movie file will save your laptop's battery, too.

You have a few options when it comes to ripping DVDs. We recommend the Handbrake method, which works on both Windows and OS X. It takes a bit of initial setup and a longer time to rip, but you'll be able to play the movies on anything, even your smartphone or tablet, and they won't take up a ton of space. Alternatively, you can use a program called MakeMKV, which is much faster and easier to use, but the files will take up much more space, and you'll need a program like VLC to play them. If you have the space to spare, though, MakeMKV is a fantastic, easy option.

Say you have a movie on DVD, but you want to watch it on your phone, tablet, somewhere else. You…
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Step Three (Optional): Invest in a Flash Drive

Lastly, if you don't already have one, you may want to get yourself a flash drive. It's the perfect way to share media with your friends, store one or two of those movies you just ripped for the plane ride, or even boot into Linux, if you ever need to. If you find you're burning CDs often, a flash drive will likely do a much better job of storing that data for you, so it's worth spending a couple bucks on one.

If you want to boot into a live Linux environment but don't have a blank CD or thumb drive…
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It may take some getting used to at first, but you might be surprised at how easy it is to survive without a DVD drive in your computer—plus, you'll then be able to enjoy all the other benefits of a light, ultra-thin laptop. Got any other tips for living without a disc drive? Share them with us in the comments.

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